If all goes as planned, Kailua-Kona could be the first community in the state to have a bike-share program.
The Hawaii County Council Finance Committee helped jump-start the project Tuesday with a unanimous vote to award $250,000 to the People’s Advocacy for Trails Hawaii.
“We’re excited about this program,” said county Research and Development Director Kawehi Inaba. “It’s very forward-thinking, very innovative.”
PATH hopes to have the program up and running by mid-July, said executive director Tina Clothier. The pilot project will include three docking stations, each holding 12 high-tech bicycles in a structure that accepts credit cards for bike rentals.
“Visitors are coming to expect this amenity when they travel,” Clothier said.
Preliminary plans are to put the stations at Old Airport Park, Kailua Pier near King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel and Hale Halawai.
“They will be used by kama‘aina and visitors alike, for exercise and for transportation,” Inaba said. “We believe, along with Mayor (Billy) Kenoi, the West Hawaii side is the best place for this pilot project because of infrastructure already in place.”
Organizers plan to charge $7 an hour at the kiosk, or create monthly and annual memberships for those who desire more frequent use. For example, Clothier said, a business owner could have a subscription that would allow employees to take bikes along Alii Drive to go to lunch.
The 12-speed bikes would be equipped with GPS tracking devices for security.
County Council members said they’re also excited about the project, but some had concerns about safety and security.
“I think it’s great. I like the bike-share program and I want it to work,” said Council Chairman Dru Kanuha, who represents central Kailua-Kona. “I think it’s a great idea, but I also want the people to use these bikes in a safe manner.”
South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman Maile David worried about riders venturing beyond the relatively safe roads around Kailua Village.
“I’m just worried about having bikes on those narrow, winding roads,” David said.
Education will be a big component of the program, Clothier said, adding PATH plans to hire two part-time staff members to ensure the bikes are in good working order and to educate users. There also will be signs at the location and other forms of public education, she said.
Clothier said PATH is working with the nonprofit Bikeshare Hawaii, which is currently working on implementing a bike-share program in Honolulu. Like Bikeshare Hawaii, PATH is using PBSC Urban Solutions for its program.
Honolulu’s system, which is expected to launch later this year, will initially include about 2,000 bikes at 200 stations from Waikiki to Chinatown, covering about 7.2 square miles. The stations will be about one or two blocks apart.
Bikeshare Hawaii secured $2 million from the City and County of Honolulu, the State of Hawaii and Ulupono Initiative, and it needs at least $5 million more to make the system a reality. PATH will likely have its funding long before then.
“We’re hoping to be first in the state,” Clothier said.
The Quebec-based PBSC Urban Solutions has the largest bicycle-sharing fleet in the world, operating bike-share systems worldwide including in Chicago, New York City, Boston and London.
The Hawaii County appropriation faces another two votes at the council level, where approval is all but assured. The $250,000 comes from the county’s $15 registration fee for bicycles and mopeds.
Clothier said PATH will be seeking sponsors who can place advertising on the bikes.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
